Offida is in the south of the Marche, near the border with Abruzzo. It is between the larger towns of San Benedetto del Tronto ( on the coast ) and Ascoli Piceno ( inland ).The land around Offida is hilly and fertile. Offida is famous for making excellent wines, for lace - making and for special biscuits called " funghetti ".Offida is an attractive holiday place and many tourists come to visit the historic centre. The climate is mild - in summer, the maximum temperature is about 35°c and in winter the minimum is around -1°c.

Santa Maria della Rocca is one Offida's most important tourist sites. It is situated on a majestic rock, isolated from the town. In 1039, Longino D'Anzone gave Santa Maria to the monks of the Farfa monastery in Sabina. In 1050, the little church was trasformed into a monastery, and enlarged, under the priorship of Berardo III. At the end of the 13th century, the reconstruction of the church began and it was completed in 1330, in Romanesque - Gothic style. In 1563, the church became a collegiate church.Two hundred years later, in 1798, the old manastery was destroyed and the materials were used to build a new collegiate church in the piazza.At the end of the 1800's Santa Maria della Rocca became the property of the local Council which paid for necessary restoration and maintenance work.

On the north west corner of the piazza is the Chiesa dell'Addolorata where you can see a small temple with a statue of the Madonna Addolorata and a beautiful canopied cart containing a statue of Cristo Morto. Across a small street is the Chiesa del Suffragio, which, in the 15th century, was the St. Antonio refuge. On the western side of the piazza is the Chiesa Collegiata whit its impressive crypt representig the grotto of the Madonna of Lourdes. Finally, next to the school, is the Santuario del Miracolo Eucaristico where you can see the remains of the Eucarist miracle.

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The council building was first built in about the 12th century and was originally a simple two - story building with an attic. The front portico was added in the fifteenth century. the side portico, along the Corso Serpente Aureo, was added in about the 19th century. Since then, the building has been restored many times. Inside there are numerous beautiful wall - hangings and a series of twenty - for eighteenth century portraits of famous Offidani. There are three council rooms: the " red room " whith Louis XV style furniture and the " blue room " with imperial style furniture and the " green room " with Louis XVI style furniture.

The theatre was built in 1820.Its design is typical of Italian theatres of the 1700's, with three levels of balconies.On the ceiling, there are paintings of some of Italy's most famous composers and writers, including Verdi and Rossini, Alfieri and Goldoni.